1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle seat. More particularly, the present invention relates to a retractable vehicle seat in which a seat cushion is arranged and constructed to be moved forwardly and downwardly when a seat back is folded onto the seat cushion.
2. Description of the Related Art
Such a retractable vehicle seat is taught, for example, by Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication Number 2002-154359.
In this known art, the vehicle seat includes a seat cushion and a seat back. A front link is attached to a forward end of the seat cushion. The front link is pivotally connected to a bracket that is mounted on a vehicle floor. At the other end, a rear link is attached to a rear end of the seat cushion. The rear link is also pivotally connected to the seat back. When the seat back is folded forwardly toward the seat cushion, the front link is pivoted via the rear link, thereby moving the seat cushion forwardly and downwardly. The end result of the seat back being folded onto the seat cushion is the retraction of the vehicle seat from the passenger compartment.
However, when the seat back is tilted rearwardly (i.e., reclined), the front link is reversely pivoted via the rear link, thereby moving the seat cushion rearwardly and upwardly. Subsequently, the position of the seat cushion continues to change as the seat back is reclined. As a result, reclining the seat back can undesirably affect the seating position of an occupant.